Reading for Today:

• 1 Samuel 1:1 Chapter 1 1 Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim, of the hill-country of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite: –3:21
• Psalms 53:1-6 Chapter 53 1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity; There is none that doeth good. 2 God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there were any that did understand, That did seek after God. 3 Every one of them is gone back; they are together become filthy; There is none that doeth good, no, not one. 4 Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge, Who eat up my people `as' they eat bread, And call not upon God? 5 There were they in great fear, where no fear was; For God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee: Thou hast put them to shame, because of God hath rejected them. 6 Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When God bringeth back the captivity of his people, Then shall Jacob rejoice, `and' Israel shall be glad. Psalm 54 For the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. Maschil of David; when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, Doth not David hide himself with us?
• Proverbs 15:8-11 8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to Jehovah; But the prayer of the upright is his delight. 9 The way of the wicked is an abomination to Jehovah; But he loveth him that followeth after righteousness. 10 There is grievous correction for him that forsaketh the way; `And' he that hateth reproof shall die. 11 Sheol and Abaddon are before Jehovah: How much more then the hearts of the children of men!
• Luke 20:27-47 27 And there came to him certain of the Sadducees, they that say that there is no resurrection; 28 and they asked him, saying, Teacher, Moses wrote unto us, that if a man's brother die, having a wife, and he be childless, his brother should take the wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. 29 There were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and died childless; 30 and the second: 31 and the third took her; and likewise the seven also left no children, and died. 32 Afterward the woman also died. 33 In the resurrection therefore whose wife of them shall she be? for the seven had her to wife. 34 And Jesus said unto them, The sons of this world marry, and are given in marriage: 35 but they that are accounted worthy to attain to that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: 36 for neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. 37 But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in `the place concerning' the Bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 38 Now he is not the God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him. 39 And certain of the scribes answering said, Teacher, thou hast well said. 40 For they durst not any more ask him any question. 41 And he said unto them, How say they that the Christ is David's son? 42 For David himself saith in the book of Psalms, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, 43 Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet. 44 David therefore calleth him Lord, and how is he his son? 45 And in the hearing of all the people he said unto his disciples, 46 Beware of the scribes, who desire to walk in long robes, and love salutations in the marketplaces, and chief seats in the synagogues, and chief places at feasts; 47 who devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater condemnation.

Notes:

1 Samuel 3:1 the boy Samuel. Samuel was no longer a child (2:21, 26). While Jewish historian Josephus suggested he was 12 years of age, he was probably a teenager at this time. The same Hebrew term translated here “boy” was used of David when he slew Goliath (17:33). the word of the LORD was rare. The time of the judges was a period of extremely limited prophetic activity. The few visions that God did give were not widely known. revelation. Literally, “vision.” A divine revelation mediated through an auditory or visual encounter.

1 Samuel 3:19 the LORD was with him. The Lord’s presence was with Samuel, as it would be later with David (16:18; 18:12). The Lord’s presence validated His choice of a man for His service. let none of his words fall to the ground. Everything Samuel said with divine authorization came true. This fulfillment of Samuel’s word proved that he was a true prophet of God (see Deut. 18:21, 22).

Proverbs 15:11 Hell and Destruction. See 27:20. Hell or Sheol is the place of the dead. “Destruction” refers to the experience of external punishment. See Job 26:6 6 Sheol is naked before `God', And Abaddon hath no covering. .

Luke 20:37 the burning bush passage. Exodus 3:1 Chapter 3 1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the back of the wilderness, and came to the mountain of God, unto Horeb. –4:17. In that passage God identified Himself to Moses as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—using the present tense. He didn’t say He was their God, but “I AM” their God, indicating that their existence had not ended with their deaths.

Luke 20:40 they dared not question Him. The more questions Jesus answered the clearer it became that His understanding and authority were vastly superior to that of the scribes and Pharisees.

DAY 30: What do the two prayers of Hannah teach us about prayer?

In 1 Samuel 1:1 Chapter 1 1 Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim, of the hill-country of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite: 0,11, Hannah vowed in “bitterness of soul” to give the Lord her son in return for God’s favor in giving her that son. She prayed as a “maidservant”—a humble, submissive way of referring to herself in the presence of her superior, sovereign God. “Remember me,” she requested, asking for special attention and care from the Lord. She would give the child to the Lord “all the days of his life,” which was in contrast to the normal Nazirite vow, which was only for a specified period of time (see Num. 6:4, 5, 8).

In contrast to the prayer that came from her bitterness, Hannah prayed from joy in 2:1–10. The prominent idea in Hannah’s prayer is that the Lord is a righteous Judge. He had brought down the proud (Peninnah) and exalted the humble (Hannah).The prayer has four sections: 1) Hannah prayed to the Lord for His salvation (vv.1, 2); 2) Hannah warned the proud of the Lord’s humbling (vv. 3–8d); 3) Hannah affirmed the Lord’s faithful care for His saints (vv. 8e–9b); 4) Hannah petitioned the Lord to judge the world and to prosper His anointed king (vv. 10d-e). This prayer has a number of striking verbal similarities with David’s song of 2 Samuel 22:2 2 and he said, Jehovah is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, even mine; –51:“horn” (2:1; 22:3),“rock” (2:2; 22:2, 3), salvation/deliverance (2:1, 2; 22:2, 3), grave/Sheol (2:6; 22:6),“thunder” (2:10; 22:14),“king” (2:10; 22:51), and “anointed” (2:10; 22:51).

From The MacArthur Daily Bible Copyright © 2003. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson Bibles, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc, Nashville, TN 37214, www.thomasnelson.com.

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